Suspension arrangements of the type mentioned in the introduction are used, for example, but by no means exclusively, in trucks and similar heavy trucks in order to uncouple the driver's cab from the chassis of the vehicle. Since the spring rates of the chassis springs are inevitably relatively high in heavy trucks because of the heavy loads of the vehicles, unevennesses of the road surface or even vibrations from axles and the drivetrain are transmitted to a considerable extent to the chassis via the axle suspension.
Driver's cab suspensions, in which the driver's cab is supported with the use of a separate suspension system on the vehicle chassis, have been developed in order to minimize the transmission of such persistent shocks and vibrations to the driver's cab and hence to the workplace of the driver in the sense of ergonomics and occupational safety. Such suspension systems for the driver's cab can be designed with considerably lower spring rates and softer shock absorbers than the axle suspension thanks to the fact that the weight of the driver's cab is much lower than the weight of the vehicle.
However, such suspension arrangements for driver's cabs are of a relatively complicated design, especially if increased requirements are imposed on the support of lateral forces and kinematics, for example, pitch or roll suppression. It may thus possibly even be necessary to provide additional stabilizers, besides the spring and absorber elements proper, similarly to the axle suspensions of motor vehicles.
To limit, for example, the undesired, relative lateral roll of the driver's cab in relation to the chassis of the vehicle, for example, during travel on oblique surfaces or in curves, roll stabilizers in the form of torsion bars, which couple the spring compression paths of the suspension elements of the driver's cab, which are the left and right suspension elements relative to the direction of travel, with one another to a certain degree, are frequently necessary in suspension arrangement according to the state of the art. To additionally also suppress or absorb motions or vibrations of the driver's cab in the lateral direction, additional spring/absorber units are also often necessary in the transverse direction of the vehicle.
Such prior-art devices for suppressing rolling motions or for absorbing motions of the driver's cab in directions other than the principal shock directions are, however, of a complicated design, especially because of the high loads acting. Thus, they cause rather substantial costs in terms of both construction and production as well as in connection of the maintenance of trucks equipped therewith.